This review may contain spoilers
lackluster vertical micro series
Overall: 40 total episodes for about 1hr 15 minutes runtime (a little under 2 minutes per episode). Episodes 1-10 are free to watch on the Alwayz Shortdrama YouTube channel https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNSRcn2apDarHe7Tml51AIxwuqIE1SAO7&si=RWE6BtHqjZdxkdSV - on Dec 6th I watched all 40 episodes for free with a special livestream https://www.youtube.com/live/zNQiDd3UiY0 ; March 14th it was released on the Shortime app https://shortime.app/en/content/cb1f4cf (my invite code is NKNIWI - those are all capital letters, that's the capital letter i) It was later released on the iQIYI app which has several BL verticals.Content Warnings: past suicide, grief, mental health struggles, suicidal thoughts, near suicide
What I Liked
- caring moments such as first aid, piggyback ride
- good kissing
- that 1-10 are free on their YouTube channel and they did give a short window to watch all episodes for free instead of needing to download their app
Room For Improvement
- love triangle
- slow pacing
- didn't feel connected to any characters or their relationships with each other
- too many flashbacks
- night scenes needed more light on the actors' faces
- the band aids were much more distracting than whatever they were covering (scars, freckles, tattoos)
- the pool was so shallow that characters could all stand in it and yet a character said "how did you get to me, oh you swam"
- ending left something to be desired, after being so determined to do something a character seemed to make a strong 180 turn
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Good guys don't win
Two things irritated me. The vertical filming and the expected outcome. The narrowing of the screen would put a greater strain on your eyes to watch. Not a very good idea. Watching like this did not enhance the plot or the enjoyment.The script tried to be introspective and cute. I said tried. Pa Rang sees Tae Min seduce a guy and just as quickly dumps him after having fun. Yu Bin, kind and friendly, openly shows Pa Rang he is interested but guess which one he chooses. No brainer. When will shows stop portraying the good guy as a loser? Is this supposed to make it more interesting? It didn't. All three had issues but it is Yu Bin who fully understands his and keeps trying without looking for pity.
The acting was done well enough. The 2 seconds that Pa Rang's mother was onscreen did more for the story than everything else. The despair, the pain, the words uttered before she jumped were portrayed very well. Tho the script had too many references about drowing and sinking and looking up from the bottom. Ok, we get it.
The expected outcome: Pre-planning to die on the same day his mother died, Pa Rang goes to jump. Yu Bin recognizes something is off and tells Tae Min, who instantly knows where to find him, he rushes to save him. Yu Bin - see what I mean about the good guy. Tae Min, who supposedly loves him so much, didn't know. Tae Min reaches in time, pulls him off of the box he stood on and tells him he loves him so much. No intensity, like standing on the wall, but a box next to the wall. Lazy writing.
The theme of Pa Rang planning his death could have easily shown to change by him falling in love with Tae Min and by seeing how Yu Bin keeps pushing no matter his limitations and finally facing up to his father about how he blamed him for his mother's suicide. As is, there was no electrifying moment that warranted the cost of paying to see this. It's now available on YT for free as a full length series combined but for how long, no one knows. I will not watch this again. The irritating background music was not to the show's benefit. Everything felt dull and monotonous.
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chemistry up plot down
when i first started watching it i was so excited, it had a good start but eventually the more i watch the more i feel less interested but i continued because its short anyway, tbh the chemistry btw mls was good ,some scenes looked good but the plot seems weak and not interesting ,so after finishing it i didnt feel any difference like no excitement and not attached to any characterbut do i feel disappointed? no , when i watch a short bl i dont give a lot of expectations because i know low budget and other issues etc ...
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Short Story
It's good but the thing is they should add more details for the story. It's so short to the point it feels like they skipped something. However it's really good for me, I hope Ahn Jung Hun and Ko Ho Jung can have another bl series, because I want to see more of them and their improvement.Let's go back with the story, I really want them to make it longer like there are some other jealous, chasing, or whatsoever scene.
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This review may contain spoilers
Started out very well....
Well! I eagerly waited and watched all 40 episodes aired live on their youtube channel. After watching the first 10 episodes, it was a painful wait and the series felt it was going very well.But unfortunately after completing it, did not have the same feeling. I just did not feel connected with the series somehow, did not feel the chemistry between the actors. Felt love triangle was unnecessary and also it did not get shown properly with very less screen time. Felt the 3rd ML a bit pitiful, no closure for him even after working so hard. Acting is mediocre. The past of suicide somehow did not feel connected and not a great story (although sad). Or tbh, it was not portrayed well in my point.
Felt actors could have done a more good job at acting. Not really sure of re-watch. Maybe once or twice after a long time.
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This review may contain spoilers
Sunghoon from Enhyphen's long-lost cousin and the Korean version of the Thai actor est find love
I don’t know if that needed to be a romance. I think the plot was interesting but if you’re having romance as a main plot and you’re putting it on the back burner, it just doesn’t work very well. Nonetheless, I would give it an eight out of 10 because I did think it was pretty good. I’m gonna say what I liked and what I didn’t like and then yeah.The guy who plays the swimmer is so attractive oh my Lord, he was also in Choco milk and another one of these short dramas I haven’t seen because the word brother is in the title. He’s low-key such a good actor and I hope he never stops acting because he’s a phenomenal actor. In the show, it was no different because I think he did a great job. I think this plot is a little difficult because of course, suicide is like the main thing and the description did not say that and it’s like oh so we find this out in the first fucking episode. He’s like I’m gonna kill myself in a week. You’re gonna what? Anyway, I think that the two guys had pretty good chemistry. The total of 40 seconds they were close to each other. Yeah, I think the chemistry really brought it home. I like the metaphor with the diving and his mom committing suicide. I like how it connected at the end because I was like Why does he hate diving? It’s because he watched his mom kill himself that’s why which I think was good. I think this had a good plot and a lot of potential but it just didn’t really reach its full potential. I like the coach's character. Of course, he was just beating the love interest the entire time but he was such a fun character. I don’t know why he was on screen for like 30 seconds but every time he made me laugh. Yeah I like that everything revolved around the pool cause this is his final week and then he’s spending what he loves to do best swimming. I thought that was interesting.
What I didn’t like, was that this kind of boring I can’t lie. You don’t need a bunch of sex scenes to be good, but if you’re going to have romance as one of the main plots, I think you need to have that romance and not spend genuinely the majority of this short ass drama sitting there not doing anything. Also, the episodes felt like they were an hour long, each dude Jesus Christ I don’t know why, but it was just like we’re just sitting there doing stuff but also not doing stuff. I would’ve rated the show higher if it was just like a friendship thing like a Bromance kind of thing and not a love story or an attempted love story. Also, the love triangle was ass. I don’t know why they did that. The other guy is just like Oh now I’m OK with you guys. Like what? We didn’t need this to be a romance. I also thought the pacing was bad. Like I know it's a short drama, but why did we do everything in the final two episodes? Like what? That didn’t make any sense at all. Also, the characters were pretty one-dimensional besides our main guy, even the love interest was very one-dimensional. And yeah. I dont know. That's about it.
I dont know if I would recommend, I can't lie. Okay bye!
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Heavy topics were addressed tactfully and compassionately. Heartfelt and moving. I really enjoyed it. The slow pace felt therapeutic. The love triangle wasn't needed, but the friendships and struggles shown were great.
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Too bad it's a short
I don't understand why they keep making these shorts, it's so anoying to watch 2 minute episodes. I was lucky to have found a version where they put all those short episodes together as a movie, but there still were moments where you could see it were just short episodes. I understand that in this mobile era they make series to watch vertically on mobile phones, but why the 2 minute episodes? Just make it as a movie... And phones can be turned sideways and it's always better looking on a wide screen, but that's just my opinion.The story was good, but i would have liked it a bit more if they would have taken a bit more time to dive in all three characters and their motivation why they had their trauma's.
The visuals are very dark troughout most of this drama, i don't like that because you can't see much of the facial expressions of the actors. The music was ok.
The acting was very good good, and i liked the chemistry between the mains. Unfortunatly you couldn't see much of te kiss because it was too dark, but as far i could see it was a good kiss.
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Blue Complex: Feeling What Words Cannot Say ಥ_ಥ
Blue Complex is one of those BL series that touches heavy themes with unexpected softness. 💙It proves that not everything that looks perfect on the surface truly is — and that the most powerful stories often hide in the quiet moments. 🌫️✨
This short vertical drama carries a weight far bigger than its length. ⏳
The understanding of the series lives in the details: the silences, the pauses, the glances, the actions that speak louder than any dialogue. 👀🤫
In such a brief frame of time, it manages to approach topics like depression, isolation, impostor syndrome, suicidal ideation, and the triggers that awaken it — all treated with a delicate but honest touch. 🌧️🤍
It’s a reminder that sometimes, the loudest pain is the one we don’t hear… only feel. 💔🌙
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cute for what it was
i started watching this because the boy from Choco Milkshake was in it and tbh i went into it blind lol. I was expecting a cute sweet swimming romance. Well, it was inherently a cute swimming romance(ish). Theres a bunch of trauma between all three male leads so they don't know how to communicate or talk about their feelings. Its a bit frustrating at times and a little disjointed but i would def recommend it for a quick little watch that has a cute little ending.Was this review helpful to you?
It's short film done well
I tend to watch mostly long drama series, but I do really love short films. This was a beautiful short film about finding your way back to life after trauma. Of course we have some curiosity about things not fully addressed in the film, but that's very much the nature of shorts, and I do feel we had all the pieces we really needed for the core plot.Also, definitely gotta say this was a truly well crafted vertical format short. It had great acting, cinematography, and editing! Rare qualities.
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DEPRESIÓN DE BOLSILLO
Como ex productor (y espectador veterano), confieso que no me acostumbro a estos formatos, pero debo evaluarlos en contexto —no me queda otra manera—, tratando de entender el vértigo de las redes y el consumo moderno. Muchas veces, contrariamente a mi deseo, debo «pactar» sin dejar la observación del pasado, pero apuntando —o aceptando— hacia el futuro.En virtud de lo expresado, debo admitir que la idea me pareció una extraña «genialidad». Es, en este caso, la evolución suministrada por «goteo» de las emociones de un grupo de jóvenes adolescentes, Lim Pa Rang (Go Ho Jeong), Lee Tae Min (Ahn Jung Hoon) y Seong Yu Bin (Cha Jae Hoon), transitando la depresión, el suicidio, la soledad, el deseo, el trauma, el fracaso, como un guion de bolsillo fragmentado, lo que le aporta cierta sublimidad a una trama tan simple como profunda. Las actuaciones «brillan» por la economía efectista del formato, y las escenas cautivan de manera casi hipnótica a la espera de cada fugaz capítulo.
Creo que hay honestidad en esta producción. Si se hubiera exhibido como largometraje tradicional, probablemente la ligereza o superficialidad excesiva hubiera prostituido temas tan serios como el trauma, la depresión y el suicidio. En este formato logra «económicamente» —quizá por pereza narrativa— penetrar en la psique del espectador, probablemente un joven sentado frente a su celular en la butaca de un colectivo.
La locación prácticamente excluyente del natatorio, que justifica el «disfraz» de los chicos atractivos y los cuerpos tallados, permite entretener de manera seductora, logrando intrusar temas fuertes como el amor y la tragedia con emotividad. Quizá en otro tipo de obra esta estrategia sería nefasta. Aquí, aunque con una resolución algo facilista y apresurada, supongo que acierta, mínimamente, de manera original.
Fernando R.
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